1 box to rule them all? (for bedroom)

[luv2liv]

can anyone suggest a box that can play all the video formats in the world + Amazon streaming, and wireless? no transcoding, please!

i had the ps3. but it cant play some formats like MKV. transcoding sucks cause it requires the other PC to be on at all time.
i had the FAVI, android on a stick. that was slow compared to a laptop. and also had issues with MKV files.
my brother has a Boxee, but that took forever to boot up.

for now, i have a laptop hooked to the TV via HDMI. it takes 20 seconds to boot up. but at least it can play anything i want.
what do you use that boots up almost instantaneously and plays everything?

 

[cronos]

How is your media stored?

 

[nickbits]

htpc/laptop

put it in s3 sleep mode instead of shutting it down and it will turn on instantly.

 

[MrX8503]

You don't need to transcode unless you're streaming to small devices.

I use wdtv live to stream all my videos to my HDTV. I'm thinking about picking up a Roku too for my subscription needs.

I also have a WHS that does transcoding for my iDevices.

 

[luv2liv]

How is your media stored?

ripped discs into MKV/ISO. those files stored on a USB HD thats connected to a router so all pc can access the files.

i was thinking of getting a WD, but hesitant after some reviews say it has issues with MKV as well. i forgot which model.

 

[vshah]

i had a first gen wdtv live and it had no issues with mkvs. dunno about the newer ones.

i would install boxee, plex, or xbmc on your laptop and call it a day. can always jump out to the browser for amazon video or netflix.

my htpc wakes up from sleep and is in to xbmc in ~5 seconds

 

[poofyhairguy]

The only thing that will for certain play every type of file is a semi-powerful computer.

 

[RedRooster]

I had a WDLive then switched to a Pivos Xios and just this week switched to a Roku XD. The Rokus are pretty sweet, my favorite so far. The apps will cover your legit subscriptions, plus it'll easily stream MKVs, nice fast interface. I use the Plex app to stream Plex media from my PC, there are some "very good" apps in Plex that has allowed us to quit paying our stupid cable company for the three channels we watch.

 

[bearxor]

I had a WDLive then switched to a Pivos Xios and just this week switched to a Roku XD. The Rokus are pretty sweet, my favorite so far. The apps will cover your legit subscriptions, plus it'll easily stream MKVs, nice fast interface. I use the Plex app to stream Plex media from my PC, there are some "very good" apps in Plex that has allowed us to quit paying our stupid cable company for the three channels we watch.

Roku will stream MKV's now?

 

[RedRooster]

Roku will stream MKV's now?

Good question, now that I think about it I think I must've been doing it through Plex as well. I shouldn't have spoke so fast on the native MKV streaming.

 

[bearxor]

Good question, now that I think about it I think I must've been doing it through Plex as well. I shouldn't have spoke so fast on the native MKV streaming.

Man, if Roku streamed MKV's natively, I would own a half dozen of them.

 

[cronos]

ripped discs into MKV/ISO. those files stored on a USB HD thats connected to a router so all pc can access the files.

i was thinking of getting a WD, but hesitant after some reviews say it has issues with MKV as well. i forgot which model.

WDTV Live should be perfect for your needs, I think.

 

[poofyhairguy]

WDTV Live should be perfect for your needs, I think.

Yeah the newer ones have pretty amazing compatibility with most standard mkvs.

 

[ElFenix]

intel nuc or those lenovo Q190s that were in hot deals. deal is expired now but they come and go

 

[drbrock]

If you didn't have the router with the USB drive I would say HTPC all the way. However I have a WDTV live too and they are very nice machines. Nothing fancy but it just works. Never had a problem playing file types.

 

[luv2liv]

If you didn't have the router with the USB drive I would say HTPC all the way. However I have a WDTV live too and they are very nice machines. Nothing fancy but it just works. Never had a problem playing file types.

is this the WD Live you have?
http://www.amazon.com/Streaming-Medi...sr_1_1?ie=UTF8


it doesnt support Amazon streaming though. almost perfect.....

 

[MrX8503]

is this the WD Live you have?
http://www.amazon.com/Streaming-Medi...sr_1_1?ie=UTF8


it doesnt support Amazon streaming though. almost perfect.....

That's why I'm thinking about picking up a Roku. Too bad there isn't a perfect set top box.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Rokus *can* stream MKVs via Plex Media Server, BUT in my experience, you have to force transcoding. In a posting I read quite some time ago on the Plex forums (I haven't been able to find it again, however), the Plex developers claimed you didn't have to force transcoding but could use "Direct Play w/ Fallback" and it would transcode as needed. I was NEVER able to get that option to work; the Roku boxes would eventually crash. With transcoding forced, I never had an issue.

EDIT: Found it: http://forums.plexapp.com/index.php/topic/48002-automatic-or-direct-stream/

 

[bearxor]

Using Plex != network streaming. Until I can play back a MKV without an intermediary, then the box for MKV support will be firmly unchecked for me.

It's kind of weird though, because the Roku can play back MKV's natively, but only over USB, not a network share. I'd put money it's a restriction put in to place to satisfy Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Vudu, etc.

 

[Anonemous]

Just get a cheap laptop that has a Celeron/Pentium and it'll be sufficient to play anything you can throw at it.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Using Plex != network streaming. Until I can play back a MKV without an intermediary, then the box for MKV support will be firmly unchecked for me.

I'll never understand this rationale. Do you guys seriously not have a box that runs 24/7? I thought all ATers did!

Oh, and Plex most certainly is network streaming.

It's kind of weird though, because the Roku can play back MKV's natively, but only over USB, not a network share. I'd put money it's a restriction put in to place to satisfy Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Vudu, etc.

I doubt that very seriously. As the Plex developers have stated, there seems to be a bug in the Roku's firmware which causes it to crash when MKVs are streamed particularly over http.

 

[shortylickens]

I have a Roku and while its nice for streaming it can only play about 5 of my 1000 files on USB. And I'm not reworking all my vids just to get them compatible with one, simple, cheap, dumb toy.

I'd sooner make an HTPC.

 

[bearxor]

I'll never understand this rationale. Do you guys seriously not have a box that runs 24/7? I thought all ATers did!

Oh, and Plex most certainly is network streaming.

Yes, I do. But I don't like Plex. It's not network streaming. It's transcoding. All my files are stored on a Atom box that acts as a file server. I'd have to put Plex on my Windows Server 2012 machine, then it would have to copy the files from the Atom NAS, then transcode, then play to my TV.

The problem I have with a LRPC (IMO, if it doesn't have TV tuners, it's not a HTPC) is that, while its great for playing back local media, it's not great at using services like Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, etc. They work, obviously, but the interface isn't optimized for a TV and its not very remote friendly. It's also way more power hungry. I can boot the Boxee Box, point it to a network share, have it catalog my TV shows and Movies, play them back and watch Netflix all at 13 watts.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Yes, I do. But I don't like Plex. It's not network streaming. It's transcoding. All my files are stored on a Atom box that acts as a file server. I'd have to put Plex on my Windows Server 2012 machine, then it would have to copy the files from the Atom NAS, then transcode, then play to my TV.

Correction -- Plex does not always transcode. It can stream native file formats (it supports Direct Play, Direct Stream, and Transcode). You can transcode to certain devices or none at all. For example, my PS3 and Sony S590 can play MKV files directly from Plex. The Rokus, on the other hand, have to use transcoding.

I had Plex on my Q6600-based Windows 2008 R2 server and recently moved it to my new E5-2620 (soon to be dual) Windows 2012 server. I really need to run some benchmarking on the transcoding.

The problem I have with a LRPC (IMO, if it doesn't have TV tuners, it's not a HTPC) is that, while its great for playing back local media, it's not great at using services like Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, etc. They work, obviously, but the interface isn't optimized for a TV and its not very remote friendly. It's also way more power hungry. I can boot the Boxee Box, point it to a network share, have it catalog my TV shows and Movies, play them back and watch Netflix all at 13 watts.

100% agree. I had my first HTPC in the 2003/2004 timeframe. While it was a lot of fun building, I had to do lots of tweaking and script writing to make everything work well. The software has advanced since then for sure, but I still don't feel that the overall experience is worth the effort and cost. I mean, look at the lack of support MS received from the market in terms of media extenders.

At any rate, I got rid of my HTPC a few years ago because it was needlessly complex and I wanted to concentrate on my backend servers and move towards self-contained boxes for streaming. I think it is just a matter of time before someone comes out with the box that does everything at a reasonable cost and when that happens, I think the Rokus are fine for my needs.

 

[bearxor]

Correction -- Plex does not always transcode. It can stream native file formats (it supports Direct Play, Direct Stream, and Transcode). You can transcode to certain devices or none at all. For example, my PS3 and Sony S590 can play MKV files directly from Plex. The Rokus, on the other hand, have to use transcoding.

You are totally correct.

But I thought we were generally speaking in the "realm" of the Roku.